Albert Hammond was born in 1944 in London and raised in Gibraltar. He attributes his almost matchless run of hit songs to his cosmopolitan upbringing. “Having grown up in Gibraltar, I guess I heard more music maybe than if I’d grown up in London. Probably in London I would have heard one kind of music only, but in Gibraltar you heard everything from flamenco to Arabic to Mexican to R 'n' B to rock to pop to – everything. So I would imagine Gibraltar is an influence in my life."

His first big hit was Little Arrows and it was his first worldwide million seller. It Never Rains In Southern California, started his solo career, and also established it. It is one of Albert’s most important songs and he was the artist, the producer and the writer.

The specific measure of Albert Hammond’s achievement is that everyone knows – and can hum or sing - far, far more of his songs than they actually realise he has written. His work has been recorded by artists like Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, KD Lang, Cass Elliot and Bonnie Tyler through to Tom Jones, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Art Garfunkel, Willie Nelson, Julio Iglesias, Johnny Cash and Josh Groban. Groups which have enjoyed success with Albert Hammond songs include The Hollies, Steppenwolf, The Carpenters, Aswad and Ace Of Base.

Subsequently, Albert has recorded a number of albums of his own in Spanish, written songs recorded by many Spanish artists and produced several albums for the market – proving, beyond all doubt, that the true talent of an accomplished writer is that quality songs, and music, really do translate – and that music truly is a universal language.

He has just released a new album: Revolution of the Heart. The theme running through the entire album, is Albert Hammond’s own story. “Basically, it’s about my 60 years of life. The context of both the music and the lyrics is my 60 years of life. Even though I wrote the lyrics with Leo (Sayer) because he’s a friend and an incredible writer. We both sat down together and I said ‘Look, I want to write about my life.’ This is what came out. This is who I am, my 60 years in this world. This is how I feel – and this record tells it. I call it my journey.”

FESTIVAL PATRON - ALBERT HAMMOND - INSPIRED BY GIBRALTAR'S YOUNG MUSICIANS!
 
The patron of Allegro Music Productions, Albert Hammond, made a surprise visit to the Festival Gala Concert. The internationally acclaimed Songwriter, who hails from Gibraltar but now lives in California, treated the audience to an impromptu performance of some of his many major hits. The Festival's 4th Gala Concert, held on 30th March 2009 at the John Mackintosh Hall, Gibraltar, opened with a 6 minute video of Albert featuring him performing 'In Concert' with the BBC in 1975 and more recently in 2006 in Ronnie Scott's Club, London. In between these two performances were clips of some of his many major hits, such as: When I Need You, Little Arrows, Freedom Come Freedom Go, Gimme Dat Ding, It Never Rains in Southern California, The Air that I Breathe, One Moment in Time, Hero and This Side of Midnight. Also featured were some mega stars such as Tina Turner, Diana Ross, The Hollies and Westlife who have had major hits with his songs.
 
Albert then thrilled and delighted the audience by coming onto the stage after the video clip, donning a guitar and performing a medley of his songs to which the children were seen enthusiastically clapping along. This was received with rapturous applause by the audience. There was a long queue at the end of the evening by children and adults alike asking Albert for his autograph! Whilst the children were definitely inspired by this impromptu performance, Albert himself said that the children had been an inspiration for him and he himself was inspired by the children's own interest in music from what he had seen that evening. He has told us that he will also remember this day for a long time and that seeing the children perform so enthusiastically makes him proud to be their patron.
 
Albert has received two major international accolades: the Ivor Novello award for distinguished composers, in London, and his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, in New York, amongst all the top composers of our time. Albert has also been honoured to receive the OBE (Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II in London.